Archive for the ‘Teams’ Category

Nineteen people came together as individuals – working for the same organization but not with a great deal of knowledge about each other.

In a mere two days, they had moved from individuals to three healthy, dynamic and supportive teams. It felt good participating in and witnessing this coming together and the blossoming of something new.

The first day was setting some frameworks for how they wished their team to work together and the values they wished to live by.

They also learnt about themselves – their strengths and limiters and how significant others such as their manager, colleagues and direct reports actually saw them back in their workplace.

Feedback is never easy especially when it is tinged with what we could improve on. But these nineteen resolute and amazing team members took it in their stride.

“Introverted feeling types have a wealth of warmth and enthusiasm, but they may not show it until they know someone well. They wear their warm side inside, like a fur-lined coat.” – Isabel Briggs Myers

In our world the externals including charisma and outgoing personalities get noted and praised starting right from early school.
For example, one teacher’s feedback, “Johnny is a confident, active and outgoing child.” On the other hand “Anjila is very quiet in class and keeps to herself.”

Okay – so we are who we are and here’s what we need to remember:

Both personality preferences have their strengths

As bosses, parents, teachers and community leaders, we need to be mindful that both the extroverted and introverted personality preferences bring their own strengths as much as they have their challenges.

If we are aware of this, we can optimise performance and exchange with our colleagues, direct reports, students and even the seemingly incalcitrant teenager, on some occasions!

“Well-developed introverts can deal ably with the world around them when necessary, but they do their best work inside their heads, in reflection. Similarly well-developed extraverts can deal effectively with ideas, but they do their best work externally, in action.”
― Isabel Briggs Myers, Gifts Differing: Understanding Personality Type

Team meetings

Let us look at team meetings where we spend a large chunk of our working time. (more…)

Greatness is the ability to consistently deliver peak performance regardless of opponent, occasion or what happened the week before.– Steve Hansen and Ritchie McCaw views as quoted in the New Zealand Herald

The All Blacks are the first team ever to have won the Rugby World Cup three times including back to back titles.

And to achieve this, they have shown nothing short of high performance, excellence in teamwork, composure, self and team knowledge, and a grounded self-belief throughout the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

On the emotional front, who can resist the following – the spiritual power of the haka as it throws out a challenge to the opponents while acknowledging and drawing on the energies of all those giants who have worn the jersey before them; the indelible joy on the faces of the players, team management and all the supporters when an unexpected try has been scored or when a practiced move has come off in actual play; the natural show of group hugs and flying leaps of the ecstatic players as they land in a delirious mound.

But it is not just about Rugby. There are some powerful leadership, team and life lessons we learn from this world-class team with a win ratio percentage of 90 plus.

The 34th America’s Cup – what times of great thrill, frustration and deep sense of loss we endured individually and as a nation.

But we also saw what an engaged, high performing team and great leadership looks like.

Here are six lessons on deeper values that we can learn from Dean Barker and his team.

1) Honesty and integrity – with Dean there is no acting, clichéd lines or “talking up” because that is the thing to do. What we get is a rare and refreshing sense of a real person with heart, soul and guts who calls it as he sees it.

A great embodiment of authentic leadership.

It is not surprising that the whole country got behind the team, despite the loss. Honesty is a prized value appreciated by most.

2) Humility and grace – even when ETNZ were on a roll the first half of the race, Dean Barker showed no sign of arrogance about his team or getting personal about the defenders in any way.

Not only did he stay a true professional and great sportsman-like but he also showed that rare quality of GRACE. (more…)